Insulation piercing connector for duplex lamp cords



Oct. 4, 1955 c. w. ABBOTT 2,719,957

INSULATION PIERCING CONNECTOR FOR DUPLEX LAMP CORDS Filed July 25, 1953 TUEB.

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ATTORNEYS.

INSULATION PIERCING CONNECTOR FOR DUPLEX LAMP CORDS Charles W. Abbott, Larchmont, N. Y., assignor to Abbott Developments, Inc., New Haven, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Application July 23, 1953, Serial No. 369,786

4 Claims. (Cl. 339-99) This invention relates to means for electrically connecting two lamp cords, especially duplex lamp cords.

The term duplex lamp cord is well known in the trade and is used to mean a cord comprising two conductors arranged side by side in parallel relation and untwisted. It will be understood that these duplex cords are employed for connecting a wide variety of objects in a house lighting circuit and the like, such for example as electric table and floor lamps, radios, electric clocks and similar devices.

It is often desirable to interconnect two lamp cords, either to extend the length of one cord, or to replace a worn out length of cord, or to tap off from one cord in order to energize a lamp, radio, clock or other device to be located where there is no readily available outlet. This is particularly true in the home but housewives although wanting to make such connections have usually hesitated to do so feeling that it is an electricians job, re-

quiring, as it has, tools for taking apart and reassembling the bulky connection devices employed, for trimming off the ends of the cords, baring the wires of cord conductors, etc. Usually it has been necessary to secure wires of cord ends under binding posts or to twist together cord wire ends, if the connection was made directly without a connecting device, and this last operation required the further step of soldering and taping the twisted together wires to properly connect and to insulate the conductors of each cord from one another and to provide an insulating covering over the interconnected cord ends. In addition to being difficult for the ordinary housewife to use, such connector devices for duplex cords as have heretofore been available have been bulky and unsightly and usually involves male and female members each of which must be connected to conductor ends before they can be connected to one another.

Accordingly it is an object of this invention to overcome deficiencies of the prior art and provide means for connecting one duplex lamp cord to another which are simple, practical and inexpensive.

Another object of the invention is to provide means of the above mentioned kind which will be simple and quick to use without requiring the use of any tools other than a small screw driver, nail file or the like.

Another object of the invention is to provide connection devices which are small, strong and of pleasing streamlined appearance.

Other objects of the invention will be in part obvious or in part pointed out hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combinations of elements, arrangements of parts, and in the several steps and relation and order of each of said. steps to one or more of the others thereof, all as will be pointed out in the following description, and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the following claims.

The invention will best be understood if the following description is read in connection with the drawings, in which,

2,719,957 Patented Oct. 4, 1955 Figure 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the connector device in its actual size;

Figure 2 is a perspective view on an enlarged scale of a cover for the face of the body portion of the device shown in Figure 3, looking at the outer surface of said cover;

Figure 3 is a perspective view on an enlarged scale of the body of the connector device shown in Figure 1, showing one face thereof;

Figure 4 is a perspective view on an enlarged scale of the body of the connector device shown in Figure 1,

- showing the other face thereof;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a cover for the face of the body portion shown in Figure 4 looking at the inner face of said cover;

Figure 6 is a plan view of an assembly partly cut away;

Figure 7 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 7-7 of Figure 6;

Figure 8 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 88 of Figure 6; and

Figure 9 is a longitudinal section taken on the line 99 of Figure 6.

The device described herein is for electrically interconnecting two duplex lamp cords and particularly for tapping off a second cord from a first cord intermediate the ends of the first cord. This device as supplied com- 1 mercially is only slightly thicker than twice the thickness of the duplex cord and only slightly wider than the duplex cord, and somewhat elongated. In Figure 1 the device is shown approximately in its actual size while in Figures 2-9 it is shown on an enlarged scale. It comprises body portion 10, and cover members 11 and 13 for the opposite faces of member 10.

The face 12 of body portion 10 is grooved from end to end with the continuous channels 14 and 16, which have common end ports 15 and 17 and are separated between said end ports by the longitudinally extending portion 18 of face 12. These channels are adapted to receive individually the conductors 20 and 22 comprising a duplex lamp cord 24, and in Figure 9, the conductors 20 and 22 comprising the cord 24 are shown with portions intermediate their ends engaged in said channels 14 and 16 respectively.

The face of member 10, which, as illustrated herein, is the face opposite to face 12, is also grooved to provide channels 28 and 30 which, however, are discontinuous and extend only half the length of member 10. The remainder of face 26 may be concave, as indicated at 31, to save space and material, leaving a boss 27 for a screw hole. The channels 28 and 30 have the common entrance port 32 and then separate, being spaced apart by the longitudinally extending portion 34 of face 26. These channels are adapted to receive individually the ends of conductors 36 and 38 comprising the duplex lamp cord 39.

Mounted in the main body 10 are the two electrically conductive pin members 40 and 42 in the form of right angled pins. The pointed ends 40* and 42 of said members project into said channels 14 and 16 and are disposed normally thereto, and the pointed ends 40 and 42 project axially within channels 28 and 30 in the direction of the open ends of said channels. it will be seen that each of said pins 40 and 42 bridge the distance between one of said pair of channels 14 and 16, which are continuous, and one of the channels 28 and 30 which are discontinuous and are located on the opposite face of said body member 10.

The cover member 11 has the central screw hole 44, positioned to register with the screw hole 46 in face 12 of body portion 10. The outer end of hole 44 is enlarged to receive the screw head 48 of screw 50 (Figure 9) therein. Projecting from the inner surface of member 11 are the positioning dowel pins 52 and 54 adapted to register with and seat in the holes 56 and 58 provided in the face 12 of body portion 10, in the portion 18 thereof between channels 14 and 15 and on either side of screw hole 46.

The cover member 13 is grooved on its inner surface fromone end to approximately its transverse mid-line with the channels 28 and 30 which are adapted to overlie and complement channels 28 and 30 respectively in body portion when cover 13 is assembled with said body portion. Channels 28 and 30 have the common entrance port 32 which registers with and complements entrance port 32 of said body member when the parts are assembled. From the entrance port said channels first curve away from one another and then extend inward in substantially parallel relation being spaced apart by the longitudinally extending body portion 60.

In each of channels 28 and 30v near their common entrance port 32 I provide a pair of transverse ribs 62, and in each of channels 28 and 30 I provide a rib 64 positioned to engage conductors in said channels between said ribs 62 and on the opposite surface of said conductors when said cover 13 is assembled to body portion 10.

After the duplex cord conductors 20 and 22 comprising duplex cord 24 have been suitably separated and properly positioned in their respective channels 14 and 16, and pushed down upon the pointed ends 40 and 4-2 respectively of said pin members 40 and 42, the cover member 11 issecured in place over the surface 12 of body member 10 by inserting screw.50 through hole 44 in cover 11 andrinto the internally threaded hole 46 in face 12 of body member 10. Similarly, when the conductors 36 and 38 comprising duplex cord 39 are positioned in the channels 28 and 30, and pushed endwise against the pointed ends 40 and 42 respectively of said members 40 and 42, until the said ends pierce the said conductor ends axially and extend well into contact with the bundle of wires comprising their cores, the cover member 13 is placed over face 26 of said member 10 and is secured thereon by means of screws 66 inserted through the screw holes 68 in cover member 13 and into the internally threaded screw holes 70 and 72 provided in face 26 of body member 10. In this manner conductor 36 of cord 39 is electrically connected with conductor 20 of cord 24, and conductor 38 of cord 39 is electrically connected with conductor 22 of cord 24.

Cover 11 serves to hold cord conductors 20 and 22 on the points 40 and 42 of conductive pins 40 and 42, and similarly cover 13 serves to hold cord conductors 36 and 38 frictionally engaged between ribs 64 in the channels on the under face of cover 13 and ribs 62. in the channels in the face 26 of body member 10 to resist inadvertent disconnecting of cord conductors 36 and 38 from conductive pin points 40' and 42 The device described herein provides a simple and effective means for electrically interconnecting two duplex lamp cords to tap off one from the other. Thus a lamp, or other device, although its cord is not long enough to reach a wall socket from the position desired for it, may be energized by being connected intermediate the ends of a connected duplex. cord, whichmay already be in use. The device is strong, simple to use; requiring no tools other than a coin, knife blade, nail file or the like to turn the screws which attach the cover members to the body member; is ornamental in appearance; occupies a minimum of space; andprovides a connection able to withstand astrong pull on either cord.v

There has thus been provided an improvement in duplex lamp cord connecting devices in which the various objects hereinabove set forth together with many thoroughly practical advantages are successfully achieved. As various possible embodiments might be made of the mechanical features of the above invention and as the art herein described might be varied in various parts, all without departing from the. scope of the invention, it is to be understood that all matter hereinbefore set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What I claim is:

1. A device for electrically connecting two duplex lamp cords which comprises, a body memberhaving one surface which is grooved from end to end with two continuous channels adapted to receive respectively the conductors comprising one of said duplex lamp cords, the said channels being separated intermediate their ends by a longitudinally extending dividing wall, said body member having another surface which is grooved from one end part way to the other end with two discontinuous channels adapted to receive respectively the ends of conductors comprising the other of said duplex lamp cords, said channels being separated by a longitudinally extending dividing wall, and right angled contact pins supported in said body member intermediate its said grooved surfaces, each pin having one end normal to, and projecting into, one of the continuous channels of said one surface, and having its other end projecting axially into one of the discontinuous grooves of said other surface.

2. Apparatus for electrically interconnecting the end of one duplex lamp cord to an intermediate portion of another duplex lamp cord which comprises, an elongated body member having a plurality of surfaces, a first pair of grooves in one of said surfaces extending across said surface to receive an intermediate portion of a first duplex lamp cord, at second pair of grooves in another of said surfaces extending from the periphery of the body member part way through the body member to receive the end portion of a second duplex lamp cord, said pairs of grooves being spaced apart and disposed in parallel relation, and pin means supported in said body and extending substantially at right angles into said first grooves and substantially axially into said second grooves, the grooves comprising each pair of grooves being spaced apart in the portions thereof into which said pin means extend.

3. The device claimed in claim 2 including elongated cover means for extending over each of said surfaces, and

- means for interconnecting said body and said cover means to provide a closure in which the said intermediate portion of said first duplex lamp cord and the said end portion of said second duplex lamp cord are contained and positively engaged.

4. Apparatus for electrically interconnecting the end of one duplex lamp cord to an intermediate portion of another duplex lamp cord which comprises, an elongated body, a plurality of passages extending through said body from end to end to receive the intermediate portion of a pair of conductors comprising a first duplex lamp cord, and a plurality of recesses extending into said body, in parallel relation to said passages, to receive the end portion of a pair of conductors comprising a second duplex lamp cord, and pin means supported in said body and extending substantially'at right angles into said passages respectively and substantially axially into said recesses respectively.

References Cited inthe file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,537,160 Diehl May 12, 1925 2,110,513 Toeke Mar. 8, 1938 2,235,231 Mattis Mar. 18, 1941 2,507,723 Leja May 16, 1950 2,567,783 Richardson Sept. 11, 1951 

